Henry leads the charge as Britain storms Emmys

British programme makers enjoyed a record-breaking night at the awards for international excellence in television.

They all but swept the board at the 32nd International Emmys in New York last night, taking home six out of the seven prizes.

British TV programmes have always done well at the awards but organisers encouraged a record number of entries from other countries this year in a bid to spread the prizes wider.

Instead, host Graham Norton, who won an International Emmy for comedy in 2001, presided over a night of triumph at the New York Hilton Hotel.

For drama, the BBC took the top award with the coldcase crime series, Waking The Dead. Granada's two-part epic Henry VIII, starring Ray Winstone, took the prize for outstanding mini-series.

Channel 4 won three awards, for Brat Camp, which followed six British teenagers to a tough US behaviour camp; the moving documentary The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off and the drama The Illustrated Mum.

In the arts category, BBC2 won for George Orwell: A Life In Pictures. The only non-British winner was German-made Berlin, Berlin, which took the comedy award won last year by BBC2's The Kumars At No 42.

Britain also earned most of the nominations, with 11, including six for Channel 4.

International Emmy president Bruce Paisner said the 2004 awards showed British TV had "made a major comeback", adding: "Over 500 jurors from 38 countries participated in the judging and they decided to recognise excellent British productions with the majority of the awards."